Tfev.  W.G.,  UeWU. 


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1854.] 


Churcu 


81 


stractly,  the  proper  form  of  cr 


because,  incidea 


tally,  the  condition  of  the 
form.    And  why  may  we  r 


allow  of  a  better 
he  church  ? 


Where  there  is  a  nations* 
ing  and  governed  ;  or  whet 


ihe  people,  govern- 
of  all  are  the  same, 


the  republican  form  of  govern^iieut  seems  to  be  the  natural 
form.  It  seems  to  harmonise  most  and  best  with  man's  con- 
stitution and  natural  rights ;  and  it  seems  difficult  to  conceive 
why  this  principle  will  not  apply  as  well  to  the  government 
of  a  church  as  a  state.  But  the  question  is,  when  is  the  state, 
or  when  is  the  church,  ready  for  the  introduction  of  this  na- 
tural government?  That  the  state  can  safely  receive  it  at  a 
far  earlier  period  in  the  advancement  of  morals  and  intelli- 
gence than  the  church  can,  is  apparent  from  the  fact,  that  the 
latter  operates  upon  a  platform  of  morality  and  virtue  far 
above  the  former.  In  the  present  condition  of  things,  per- 
haps, neither  could  be  safely  removed  from  the  grounds  they 
respectively  occupy.  To  improve  the  form  of  government  in 
the  church,  we  must  first  improve  its  morals  and  its  religion, 
and- also  administer  better  the  form  of  government  we  at  pre- 
sent have.  Then,  in  a  greatly  improved  s^  if  morals,  in- 
telligence and  religion,  we  will  be  the  h  ic;r  enabled  to  see 
what  changes  will  be  expedient  in  her  polity. 


Vol.  viti. — 6 


82 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January. 


ART.  YL 


A  DISCOUKSE  ON  THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  THE  LATE 


John  1  :  47.    "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  ia  whom  is  no  guile  I" 

In  respect  to  the  individual  of  whom  the  Saviour  spoke 
these  words,  no  remark  is  required.  We  select  them  as  pecu- 
liarly appropriate,  in  themselves  considered,  to  the  distin- 
guished personage,  on  the  occasion  of  whose  death  we  are 
now  assembled  ;  distinguished  no  less  for  his  eminent  position 
and  attainments  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  than  for  his  per- 
sonal character  as  a  Christian.  In  preaching  the  funeral  ser- 
mon of  a  private  individual,  we  consider  his  history  as  private 
matter,  and  are  at  liberty  to  be  silent.  We  usually  discuss 
some  important  doctrine  or  precept  of  religion  which  we  sup- 
pose will  exemplify,  in  the  minds  of  those  competent  to  make 
the  application,  the  virtues  or  the  vices  by  which  he  was 
chiefly  characterized.  But  when  called  to  bury  those  who 
were  illustrious  by  position,  or  eminent  for  their  public  ser- 
vices, we  are  allowed  to  speak  to  the  facts  of  their  history, 
and  if  need  be,  even  to  discuss  their  claims  to  that  measure 
of  public  attention  which  they  received  in  virtue  of  their 
office  or  their  services.  On  such  occasions,  it  is  proper  to 
employ  a  portion  of  Scripture  which  is  supposed  to  find  a 
striking  application  of  its  truth  and  importance  in  those  vir- 
tues and  services  which  are  brought  to  view  in  the  analysis  of 
their  character.  This  is  the  use  we  propose  to  make  of  the 
passage  :  "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile  !"' 
Such  we  doubt  not  was  our  beloved  friend,  Rev.  Dr.  Leigh. 
His  experience  as  a  Christian ;  his  sterling  integrity:  his  em- 
inent abilities  and  great  success  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel, 


REV.  HEZEKIAH  G.  LEIGH,  D.  D. 


By  RcT.  William  A.  Smith,  D.  D.,  Pres.  R.  M.  College. 


1854.] 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


83 


and  the  honest  devotion  with  which  he  consecrated  his  whole 
life  to  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom,  will  striking- 
ly illustrate  what  it  is  to  be  "an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is 
no  guile." 

Brother  Leigh  was  born  in  Perquimans  county,  N.  C,  on 
the  23d  day  of  November  1795.  He  was  converted  to  God 
in  the  22d  year  of  his  age,  and  at  once  devoted  himself  to 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  He  was  received,  on  probation, 
in  the  Virginia  Conference,  in  February  1818.  On  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Coiiference,  in  1836,  he  attached  himself  to  that 
part  which  became  the  N.  0.  Conference,  of  which  he  re- 
mained a  prominent  and  useful  member.  Of  the  incidents  of 
his  converson  and  dedication  to  the  ministry,  we  are  not  pre- 
pared to  speak.  His  life,  his  whole  life,  no  less  than  his 
peaceful  death,  illustrates  the  sound  and  truly  evangelical 
character  of  his  conversion  to  God.  By  reference  to  the 
"minutes,''  it  will  be  seen  that  he  successively  filled  the 
following  appointments,  viz.  :  Bedford,  Raleigh,  Gloucester, 
Norfolk,  Petersburg,  Meherrin  district,  James  river  district. 
Agency  for  R.  M.  College,  Petersburg  district,  Raleigh  district, 
and  Henderson  circuit.  He  was  a  second  time  agent  for  R. 
M.  College,  and  P.  E.  of  Raleigh  district,  and  for  five  years 
and  nine  months,  he  was  without  an  appointment  in  conse- 
quence of  the  state  of  his  health.  But  during  this  time  he 
was  often  able  to  plreach,  and  rendered  eminent  service  to  the 
church  at  college,  and  at  various  other  places  near  his  resi- 
dence. He  was  appointed  to  every  General  Conference  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  from  1824  to  the  time  of  its  division,  and 
attended  every  session,  except  that  of  1844,  from  which  he 
was  detained  by  sickness.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Louisville  convention  in  1845,  and  of  each  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  M^.  E.  Church,  South.  He  was  twenty-nine 
years  actively  engaged  in  the  regular  work  of  the  ministry: 
twelve  of  which  he  devoted  to  the  church,  as  a  single  man. 
In  1830  he  Avas  united  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Crump,  of 
Greensville,  Ya. ;  who  still  lives,  with  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  to  mourn  his  loss. 


84 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


Of  his  character  as  a  husband  and  father,  we  do  not  design 
to  speak.  His  memory  is  consecrated  in  the  hearts  of  those 
most  dear  to  him  whilst  he  lived.  They  will  continue,  with- 
out the  aid  of  ''monumental  stone,"  or  of  eulogium  from  us, 
to  cherish  the  fondest  recollections  of  those  exalted  domestic 
virtues,  which  now  give  a  hallowed  authority  to  all  the  pre- 
cepts by  which  he  sought  to  govern  his  family.  We  turn  to 
those  points  of  his  character  in  which  the  public  have  a  com- 
mon interest.  We  propose  to  notice  his  character  as  a 
Christian;  as  a  Preacher;  and  as  a  patron  of  learning. 
Let  us,  then,  consider 

I.  His  character  as  a  Christian. 

We  do  not  introduce  this  topic  to  furnish  the  occasion  of  a 
biographical  sketch  ;  but  rather  to  call  attention  to  one  stri- 
king feature  in  his  Christian  character ;  namely,  the  extent  to 
which  the  doctrine  of    the  witness  of  the  Spirit"  entered 
into  his  theological  views,  and  his  personal  experience.  This 
doctrine,  in  the  form  of  words  in  which  the  Methodists  are 
accustomed  to  express  it,  has,  from  the  beginning,  formed  a 
distinguishing  feature  in  Methodist  theology.    It  has  always 
been  regarded  as  the  test  and  measure  of  Christian  experience. 
That  "  the  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirits,  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God,"  is  the  great  peculiarity  of 
Methodism,  in  the  department  of  experimental  religion.  The 
emphasis  with  which  Wesley,  and  the  great  and  good  men  of 
his  day,  insisted  on  this  as  the  privilege  of  every  child  of 
God,  provoked  the  charge  of  fanaticism  from  the  cold  and 
calculating  formalism  of  that  age  ;  and  although  the  Scriptu- 
ral authority  for  this  truth,  and  the  holiness  of  thousands  who 
professed  it  have  steadily  rebuked  the  error  which  excepts  to 
the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  defining  Christian  experi- 
ence, there  are  still  to  be  found  many  who  reiterate  the 
charge.    But  this  great  Bible  truth  continues  to  be  the  crown- 
ing glory  of  Methodist  experience.    "  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  love,  joy  and  peace,"  enters  largely  into  the  charac- 
ter of  every  truly  experimental  Christian.    And  that  "love, 


1854.] 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


85 


joy  and  peace,"  should  enter  into  oar  experience,  as  the  im- 
mediate "fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  is  not  only  a  doctrine,  "very 
full  of  comfort,"  but  one  which  commends  itself  to  the  ap- 
probation of  our  most  deliberate  judgment.  In  Methodist 
philosophy,  we  can  no  otherwise  account  for  the  existence  of 
these  eminent  graces,  than  by  tracing  them  to  the  immediate 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart  as  a  witnessing  spirit. 
They  are  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit."  They  exist  in  the  heart, 
and,  as  we  conceive,  must  be  produced  there  by  the  imme- 
diate presence  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  cannot 
otherwise  account  for  their  existence,  on  any  known  princi- 
ples of  our  mental  natures,  than  by  considering  them  as  the 
immediate  result  of  that  presentation  of  Scripture  truth  to 
the  mind,  which  He  can  only  make  ;  and  of  that  awakened 
impulse  of  our  feelings,  which  He  only  can  produce,  enabling 
us  fully  to  believe;  intellectually  and  devotionally  to  feel 
what  we  believe;  or  to  trust  confidently  in  the  truth  of  that 
which  we  believe.  In  other  words,  the  Holy  Spirit  alone 
can  enable  us  to  realize  that  clear,  devotional  persuasion  or 
belief,  that  God  doth  freely  accept  us  through  the  infinite 
merit  of  his  Son,  and  love  us  as  a  reconciled  Father ;  and 
thus  to  claim  confidently,  though  humbly,  the  relation  of 
children;  "and  if  of  children  then  of  heirs;  heirs  of  God 
and  joint  heirs  with  Christ;"  which  is  not  only  the  essential 
matter  of  Christian  comfort,  but  is  also  the  necessary  and 
uniform  antecedent  of  that  holy  emotion  of  gratitude  and 
delight,  denominated  the  love  of  God.  "We  love  Him," 
says  John,  "because  He  first  loved  us."  This  being  true,  as 
a  universal  conclusion,  it  is  also  true  of  that  particular  love 
which  we  bear  to  Him  as  our  reconciled  Father;  so  that  it  ]s 
immediately  traceable  to  that  cognition  of  the  fact,  and  fidu- 
cial reliance  on  its  truth,  called  faith,  that  God  doth  love  us. 
Without  such  an  antecedent  cognition  and  trust,  which  must 
require  in  our  present  state  of  mental  imbecility  and  moral 
depravity,  as  the  condition  of  its  existence,  the  immediate 
presence  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  cannot  con- 
ceive, from  any  thing  now  known  of  our  mental  natures. 


86  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 

how  it  could  be  possible  for  us  to  love  God,  or  feel  that  we 
are  at  peace  with  Him.  Undoubtedly,  it  is  not  possible  for 
us  to  realize  that  emotion  of  gratitude  to  God  and  delight  in 
him,  called  love,  without  an  antecedent  cognition  of  the  fact, 
that  God  is  not  angry  with  us,  but  loves  us  as  a  reconciled 
Father.  The  consciousness  that  we  are  the  true  penitents, 
in  whose  favor  the  act  of  pardon,  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
always  passes  the  Divine  mind,  must,  we  think,  be  wrought 
in  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  assume  so  great  and 
important  a  truth,  so  as  to  rely  on  it  with  confidence  enough 
to  {3ie  in  peace,  would  be  bold,  if  not  arrogant,  were  it  not 
warranted  by  a  conviction  of  its  reality,  such  as  the  Holy 
Spirit  alone  can  effect.  But  with  this  antecedent  influence 
we  can  readily  perceive  how  we  can  so  believe.  All  the  con- 
ditions necessary  to  such  a  faith  are  fully  met  by  the  antece- 
dent presence  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  all  the 
conditions  plainly  necessary  to  the  love  of  God,  by  one,  who 
otherwise  must  look  upon  him  as  angry  with  him,  and  whose 
prevailing  emotions  must  therefore  be  those  of  fear,  of  trem- 
bling, and  ultimately  of  despair ;  a  class  of  emotions  the  most 
opposite  to  that  of  love  ;  are  fully  met  by  this  antecedent 
state  of  devotional  belief,  that  God  is  not  angry  with  iiim, 
but  loves  him  as  a  reconciled  Father.  The  same  faith,  ful- 
filling the  condition  necessary  to  remove  that  sense  of  guilt 
which  shuts  out  all  peace  and  joy,  enables  its  possessor  to 
''rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.*'  Thus  we 
teach  a  doctrine,  no  less  in  accordance  with  the  philosophy  of 
the  human  mind,  than  with  the  plain  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

The  late  Dr.  J.  H.  Rice,  whose  name  cannot  be  mentioned 
but  with  the  highest  respect,  because  of  his  piety  and  learn- 
ing, once  remarked,  in  a  social  circle,  in  the  city  of  Rich- 
mond, in  which  his  Methodist  brethren  were  handled  with  a 
degree  of  severity  by  no  means  to  the  taste  of  one  with  his 
large  mind  and  Catholic  feelings ;  and  yet  these  people  die 
Avell !"  "Yes,"  he  repeated,  "notwithstanding  what  you 
say  may  be  true,  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  notice  the  re- 


1854.J  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  B.  D, 


87 


markable  fact,  that  these  people  generally  die  well !"  Ah ! 
truly  brethren,  it  is  precisely  at  this  point  that  Methodism 
magnifies  itself  before  all  the  world.  Her  people  die  well ! 
Wickedness  is  rebuked,  and  doctrinal  antagonism  itself  is  made 
silent,  when  it  is  seen  how  these  people  die.  And  when 
Methodists  shall  cease  to  die  well,  Methodism  will  cease  to 
be  an  exponent  of  Bible  truth,  and  may  be  laid  aside  among 
the  things  that  were.  By  many  the  principal  cause  of  the 
success  of  Methodism  is  ascribed  to  our  peculiar  system  of 
preaching :  and  this,  no  doubt,  is  one  material  cause ;  but,  in 
truth,  we  must  look  rather  to  our  doctrines  than  to  our  gene- 
ral plan  of  operations  ;  and  of  these,  the  doctrine  of  a  con- 
scious evidence,  within  one's  own  heart,  of  acceptance  with 
God,  through  oar  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  the  offer  of  this 
glorious  salvation  to  all  men,  without  respect  of  persons, 
must  be  regarded  as  the  principal.  Yes,  we  may  take  it  upon 
us  to  say,  that  the  great  secret  of  Methodist  success  is  found 
in  the  prevalence  and  authority  of  these  distinguishing  doc- 
trines. If  Methodists  die  well,  it  is  because  they  come  to  the 
contest  covered  with  the  shield  of  this  great  truth ;  Christ 
died  for  me  and  rose  again  for  my  justification  ;  I  believe 
this,  and  am  happy  in  believing  it.  God  loves  me,  says  the 
dying  saint;  I  believe  this;  I  feel  it;  hence  I  love  to  trust 
Him  ;  I  rejoice  to  trust  Him  ;  hence  I  feel  the  evidence  with- 
in myself,  that  I  am  going  to  receive  a  crown  of  life  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  in  that  day." 
This  is  a  Christian's  death ;  rather,  it  is  the  victor's  shout  of 
triumph ! 

But  remembering  ihdt  too  many  are  liable  to  precipitate  a 
conclusion,  it  may  be  proper  to  remark  that  we  are  not  at 
liberty  to  infer,  that  all  those  who  are  said  to  reject  the  doc- 
trine of  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit,  are  our  enemies,  be- 
cause they  are  our  doctrinal  opponents.  On  the  contrary,  a 
careful  attention  to  this  subject  cannot  fail  to  convince  us 
that  all  true  Christians  agree  in  sentiment,  though,  on  man^^ 
points,  they  may  differ  widely  in  opinion.  The  true  Israel  of 
God  are  to  be  found  among  all  those  denominations  who 


88 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


agree  in  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  We  think 
we  have  good  cause  to  regret  that  any  should  hesitate  to  adopt 
the  language  of  the  Scripture  in  defining  a  genuine  Christian 
experience  ;  namely,  "  that  the  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness 
with  our  spirits,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  But  so  it 
is,  there  are  many  who  attain  great  eminence  in  Christian  ex- 
perience, who  choose  a  different  form  of  words  in  expressing 
substantially  the  same  thing.  If  we  estimate  the  experience 
of  Wesley,  Benson,  Fletcher,  and  Clarke,  and  that  numerous 
class  of  pious  Methodists,  who  follow  them  in  the  language  by 
which  they  define  their  experience,  we  shall  not  find  it  to  dif- 
fer materially  from  the  experience  of  Rice,  Alexander,  Martin, 
Hallyburton,  and  the  numerous  class  whom  they  may  be  ta- 
ken to  represent,  who  do  not  employ,  as  we  are  accustomed 
to  think,  the  same  form  of  sound  words  in  defining  the  ground 
of  their  hopes.  But  still  we  repeat,  that  in  our  philosophy, 
no  less  than  our  theology,  the  "witness  of  the  Spirit"'  is  the 
great  point  to  be  gained  in  a  sound  Christian  experience. 
Whether  we  shall  express  it  in  the  very  words  of  Scripture,  or 
shall  adopt  a  ditferent  form  of  words  to  express  substantially 
the  same  idea,  is  not  material  as  to  the  essence  of  the  thing 
itself  No  man,  we  think,  can  properly  be  said  to  be  prepar- 
ed to  live  the  life  of  a  true  Christian,  without  a  calm,  sober 
persuasion  of  mind,  that  he  is  pardoned  and  accepted,  through 
the  merits  of  the  Saviour.  Much  less,  can  any  one  be  said  to 
be  prepared  to  die,  unless  he  come  to  the  contest  with  the 
same  devotional  persuasion  of  mind,  that  he  who  loved  him. 
and  gave  himself  for  him,  v/ill  sustain  him  through  the  conflict 
and  admit  him  to  the  rest  of  heaven. 

Our  mind  has  been  directed  to  this  topic,  by  the  impor- 
tance attached  to  it  by  our  deceased  brother.  It  entered 
largely  into  his  public  exercises,  and  also  into  his  personal  ex- 
perience. Those  acquainted  with  him  well  remember  Avith 
what  clearness,  with  what  force  of  argument,  and  with  what 
convincing  authority  from  the  Scriptures,  he  enforced  in  the 
pulpit  this  great  doctrine  of  the  Bible ;  the  prominence  he 
gave  it  in  the  class  room,  the  love  feast,  and  also  in  private 


1854] 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


89 


life,  whenever  the  conversation  turned  upon  Christian  experi- 
ence. With  him,  it  was  a  settled  conviction,  tiiat  it  was  both 
the  duly  and  privilege  of  every  one  to  live  with  a  clear,  devo- 
tional persuasion  of  mind,  that  Christ  loved  him  and  gave 
himself  for  him  ;  and  to  cherish  a  lively  hope  that,  through 
him,  he  would  "be  faithful  unto  death,  and  receive  acrovvn 
of  life."  Now,  this  certainly  is  the  duty  of  every  one,  and 
no  man  should  be  satisfied  to  live  short  of  it.  For,  if  we  do 
not  follow  our  Lord,  in  the  path  of  hnmble  obedience  to  his 
commands,  we  have  no  ground  even  to  hope  for  future  salva- 
tion ;  and  if  we  do  not  love  Him,  it  is  utterly  impossible  to 
obey  Him.  For  even  the  most  commendable  acts,  in  them- 
selves considered,  as  prayer,  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  most 
bountiful  liberality,  the  utmost  integrity  and  justice  in  all  bu- 
siness transactions,  have  not  a  single  element  of  obedience  in 
them,  unless  they  spring  from  a  perception  of  duty  to  Christ, 
and  are  prompted  by  the  pleasure  we  take  in  performing  them 
because  they  are  pleasing  to  Christ ;  and  this  is  essentially  the 
love  of  Christ.  Hence,  if  we  do  not  love  Him,  we  cannot 
obey  Him.  But  if  we  do  not  believe  that  He  loved  us  and 
gave  Himself  for  us,  and  that  we  are  accepted  of  the  Father, 
on  this  account,  we  cannot,  according  to  the  known  principle 
of  our  mental  natures,  love  Him.  Because,  without  this  belief, 
there  are  only  two  alternate  states  of  mind,  each  of  which  is 
opposite  to  the  state  called  love  ;  either  the  mind  must  be  in  a 
state  of  indiiference  about  the  whole  matter  ;  which  is  a  state 
of  darkness  and  obduracy,  and  of  course,  not  the  state  of  love, 
or  it  must  be  in  an  awakened  state  ;  awakened  to  belief  in 
the  verity  of  those  truths  which  address  themselves  to  the 
condition  of  a  depraved  and  guilty  sinner;  which  belief,  as 
all  experience  and  sound  philosophy  show,  can  only  result,  so 
far  as  its  essential  tendency  is  concerned,  in  fear,  and  ultimate- 
ly in  despair;  which  are  the  opposite  of  love.  Hence  without 
the  belief  in  question,  we  cannot  love  Christ.  But  with  this 
faith,  as  before  shown,  the  evidence  of  his  compassion  for  us 
strongly  appeals  to  our  gratitude,  and  tends  directly  to  awaken 
within  us  a  holy  delight  in  Him  who  has  done  so  much  for 


90 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


us;  and  this  is  the  essential  idea  of  love.  But  the  "carnal 
mind  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  that  is,  the  car- 
nal mind  is  morally  incapable  of  clearly  perceiving  and  duly 
appreciating  the  pure  abstract  truths  of  religion ;  "  they  are 
spiritually  discerned,"  says  the  Apostle.  Hence,  if  the  Holy 
Spirit  be  not  with  us,  to  "  take  of  the  things  of  God  and  show 
them"  to  the  mind  of  man,  or  in  other  words,  if  the  Holy 
Spirit  do  not  so  present  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  so  quick- 
en our  perception  and  feelings  that  we  may  be  conscious  of 
that  true  coiitriteness  of  heart  to  which  alone  the  promise  of 
pardon  is  made,  it  is  impossible  that  we  can  so  believe  as  to 
rest  satisfied  that  the  act  of  pardon  has  passed  the  Divine 
mind.  Every  one,  therefore,  who  does  so  believe,  does  it  by 
the  direct  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  leading  to  the  comfort- 
able persuasion  of  mind,  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake  has  forgi- 
ven his  sins,  and  hence  given  him  an  earnest  of  future  sal- 
vation. 

To  abridge  this  argument  into  a  series  of  consecutive  propo- 
sitions, it  will  stand  thus;  Avithout  that  immediate  influence 
of  tfie  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart,  which  we  call  the  witness  of 
the  Spirit,  no  man  can  believe  that  God  loves  him  as  a  recon- 
ciled Father;  without  this  belief,  he  cannot  love  God,  with- 
out this  love,  he  cannot  obey  God;  and  without  this  obedi- 
ence, he  cannot  cherish  a  well  grounded  and  comfortable  hope 
of  heaven.  Therefore,  without  that  influence  of  the  Spirit, 
in  the  heart,  which  we  call  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  no  man 
can  cherish  a  well  grounded  and  comfortable  hope  of  heaven. 
Hence,  further,  the  possession  of  this  grace  is  the'  paramount 
duty  of  every  man.,  and  if  the  duty,  it  is  attainable;  and  if 
attainable,  as  from  its  nature,  it  is  an  unspeakable  blessing,  it 
is  also  an  incomparable  privilege ;  therefore,  the  attainment  of 
this  grace  is  the  great  privilege  of  every  man.  These  views, 
we  are  persuaded,  entered  largely  into  the  personal  experience 
of  our  deceased  brother.  If  the  tenor  of  his  preaching,  and 
the  spirit  of  his  general  conversation,  be  proof  of  this  ;  the 
character  of  his  experience,  through  a  long  atid  painful  sick- 
ness, more  fully  exemplified  the  Scripture;  the  path  of  the 


1854.]  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Letgh,  D.  D. 


91 


just  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  About  ten 
years  since,  he  was  attacked  with  a  rheumatic  affection, 
which  soon  became  chronic,  and,  for  the  most  part,  disqua- 
lified him  for  any  very  active  services  as  ati  itinerant  preach- 
er. At  different  intervals,  his  sufferings  were  very  great. 
Some  eighteen  months  since,  he  suffered  a  partial  paralysis  of 
the  left  side,  and  in  July  last,  he  had  a  paralysis  of  the  kidneys, 
which  it  was  expected,  at  one  time,  would  prove  fatal  in  a 
few  hours.  He,  however,  recovered  so  far  as  to  encourage 
the  hope  that  he  would  be  restored  to  usual  health  ;  but,  on 
9th  of  September,  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  attack  of  dys- 
entery, which  so  prostrated  the  vital  energy,  that  he  speedily 
sunk  into  a  comatose  state,  from  which  he  never  recovered, 
only  as  he  was  aroused,  for  a  few  moments,  at  a  time  ;  until, 
on  the  eighteenth  instant,  he  slept  in  death.  Our  interviews, 
at  different  periods  of  his  affliction,  were  frequent,  and  the 
conversation  usually  turned  upon  distinctive  views  of  Christian 
experience.  The  topics  which  interested  him  most,  were  the 
faith  of  assurance,  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  rich  com- 
fort it  afforded  him  as  he  drew  near  the  Jordan  of  death  ;  the 
bright  and  glowing  light  it  threw  over  its  otherwise  dark  val- 
ley ;  the  glory  that  awaited  the  children  of  God  in  the  hea- 
venly rest;  the  curious  and  interesting  inquiries  which  would 
be  answered  in  the  spiritual  state  ;  the  difficulties,  in  both  men- 
tal and  moral  nature,  which  would  be  solved  ;  and  the  glori- 
ous advance  of  mind  along  the  illimitable  fields  of  infinite 
knowledge,  developing,  at  every  step  of  the  vast  progression, 
the  amazing  wonders  of  Deity,  filling  the  ever  increasing  ca- 
pacities of  the  immortal  Spirit  with  that  large  measure  of 
heavenly  joy  which  the  eternal  fountain  of  light  and  love 
could  alone  supply.  At  the  period  when  it  was  supposed 
that  he  was  within  a  few  hours  of  his  dissolution,  1  spent 
some  time  with  him.  The  conversation  turning  upon  his 
state  and  prospects,  he  dwelt  with  peculiar  interest,  on  the 
rich  comfort  afforded  him  by  the  great  Bible  truth  which  we 
have  just  discussed;  and  though  he  felt  confident  of  a  safe 
trust  in  Christ ;  a  sweet  assiu'ance  of  acceptance,  there  seem- 


92 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


ed  to  open  to  his  view  so  bright  and  glowing  a  prospect  of  the 
truths  yet  to  be  realized,  that  he  grew  eloquent  in  describing 
them  ;  and  was  so  lost  in  a  vision  of  the  attainments  yet  to 
be  made,  in  the  fields  of  knowledge  and  comfort  provided  by 
the  love  of  Christ,  that  he  narrowed  down,  by  comparison,  the 
attainments  already  made,  to  a  point  so  contemptible  in  his 
own  eyes,  as  to  cause  him  to  loathe  himself,  and  exclaim  ; 
"  Oh,  if  there  were  not  a  days-man  betwixt  God  and  me,  how 
could  I  stand  his  searching  eye!  Tiiank  God,  bless  God,  for 
such  a  Saviour."  The  day  before  his  death,  I  visited  him, 
and  found  him  fast  sinking.  Just  before  leaving,  as  it  was  not 
deemed  proper  to  fatigue  him  by  conversation,  1  sought  only 
to  inquire,  "  watchman  what  of  the  night  ?"  He  turned  his 
fading  eye  upon  me,  and  with  a  smile  of  triumph  playing  on 
his  countenance,  he  softly  said,  in  reply  to  my  inquiry,  if  he 
still  felt  that  his  trust  was  in  his  Saviour;  "Oh  yes!  What 
should  I  do  without  that?  Jesus  is  with  me!  My  trust  is  in 
Him,  alone."    We  examine, 

IL  His  character  as  a  Preacher. 

Dr.  Leigh  had  few  equals  in  the  pulpit.  Sound  in  the- 
ology, bold  in  conception,  often  brilliant  in  fancy,  and  ap- 
pealing, in  all  his  efforts,  no  less  to  the  heart  than  to  the 
head,  he  stood  a  prince  among  pulpit  men.  He  filled  a  large 
space  in  public  attention,  and  wielded  a  wide  and  undisputed 
influence  among  his  brethren  in  the  ministry.  As  a  presiding 
elder,  (an  office  which  he  filled  during  a  large  portion  of  his 
public  life,)  no  man  was  more  relied  on  in  counsel.  He  was 
eminently  successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ.  A  great 
many  of  the  most  valuable  and  influential  of  our  member- 
ship in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  claim  him  as  their  spirit- 
ual father,  and  count  it  among  their  brightest  sources  of  joy, 
that  they  shall  soon  join  him  in  their  Father's  house  in 
heaven.  Such  were  his  claims  as  a  pulpit  man,  that  the 
spirit  of  a  sound  criticism  can  have  no  tendency  to  obscure 
the  lustre  of  his  eminent  virtues.    As  a  public  man,  we  shall 


1854] 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


93 


deal  with  him.  With  this  view,  we  invite  attention  to  a  few 
particulars. 

We  have  no  sfitisfactory  information  as  to  his  early  advan- 
tages of  education  ;  but  we  cannot  be  mistaken  in  assuming 
that  they  were  good.    He  preceded  me,  in  1820,  by  a  few 
years,  on  the  Gloucester  circuit ;  which  was  among  the  first 
appointments  he  received.    I  soon  had  occasion  to  know  that 
a  bright  star  had  appeared  above  the  horizon,  and  was  des- 
tined, ere  long,  to  cuhninate  in  the  mid-heavens  of  Metho- 
dism.    The  standard  by  which  I  was  to  be  judged,  as  a 
pulpit  man,  a  Christian,  and  a  gentleman,  had  been  furnished 
by  my  distinguished  predecessor.    His  doctrines,  his  bold 
imagery,  his  remarks  in  social  life,  and  the  specific  results 
of  his  labors  upon  the  dense  masses  which  attended  his  pul- 
pit, were  all  remembered.    The  old  and  the  young,  even 
children,  were  fond  to  quote  his  sayings.    The  first  time  I 
saw  Dr.  Leigh  was  at  the  Portsmouth  Conference,  February 
1826.    His  movements  in  social  life  ;  his  speeches  and  bear- 
ing in  Conference  session,  and  particularly  his  preaching,  en- 
gaged my  especial  attention.    I  soon  determined,  in  my  own 
mind,  that,  in  many  respects,  he  was  by  far  the  most  promi- 
sing member  of  the  body.    I  have  known  him  well  since 
that  period ;  served  with  him  in  important  public  positions  ; 
broken  many  a  lance  with  him  in  debate  ;  and  have  found,  to 
the  present  time,  no  reason  to  change  my  opinion.    But  in  the 
midst  of  a  glorious  career  of  usefulness,  it  pleased  God,  by  a 
most  painful  and  protracted  affliction,  to  command  him  to 
comparative  retirement.    "  The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will- 
do  right."    Brother  Leigh  is  no  more;  but  his  character  is 
before  us  for  instruction.    Indiscriminate  praise  will  not  con- 
tribute to  our  edification.    We  will  speak  of  him  with  the 
freedom  of  a  brother  beloved.    His  character  as  a  pulpit  man, 
though  distinguished  by  unusual  merit,  v/as  not  without 
striking  defects.    His  early  advantages  of  education,  though 
good,  were  evidently  not  of  that  thorough  kind  which  his 
mind  was  capable  of  receiving.    The  style  of  his  sentences 
was  often  inverted.    His  performance,  in  many,  parts,  was 


94 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


often  embarrassed  by  the  formalities  of  a  labored  preparation. 
He  was  endowed  by  nature  with  a  mind,  wide  in  its  compass, 
active  and  vigorous  in  its  operations,  and  he  had  cultivated  it 
too  highly  to  allow  him  to  appear  in  public  without  feeling 
that  he  was  a  master  of  his  subject.  His  early  mental  disci- 
pline, however,  had  not  been  of  that  thorough  kind  which 
enabled  him  to  accomplish  his  preparation  by  a  course  of 
spontaneous  and  independent  thinking.  He.  therefore,  had 
recourse  to  the  free  use  of  his  pen,  and  often,  we  judge,  with 
the  strictest  formalities  of  preparation.  We  are  far  from  cen- 
suring this.  On  the  contrary,  we  deem  it  the  solemn  duty  of 
every  public  man,  in  such  circumstances,  to  make  a  free  use 
of  the  pen.  It  is  folly,  to  bespeak  attention  when  we  have 
nothing  to  say :  to  claim  to  be  instructors  when  we  have 
nothing  to  impart.  If  we  cannot  think  through  our  subject, 
without  the  aid  of  our  pens,  nor  speak  through  it,  without 
the  aid  of  our  manuscripts,  then  let  us  use  them.  But  still, 
it  is  not  to  be  doubted,  that  we  labor  under  serious  disadvan- 
tages. In  a  public  life,  of  over  thirty  years,  we  have  met 
with  but  one  man,  in  the  Methodist  pulpit,  who  could,  with 
any  thing  like  uniform  success,  declaim  his  composition  with 
that  naturalness  and  simplicity  which  gave  to  it  its  due  and 
full  effect.  A  failure  of  memory,  or  recurrence  to  the  manu- 
script, or  more  frequently,  a  natural  inability  to  fall  into  and 
maintain  the  true  spirit  of  the  composition,  throughout  its 
delivery,  will  often  dissolve  the  sympathy  between  a  speaker 
and  his  hearers,  and  cause  that  only  to  be  admired  as  beauti- 
ful, which  should  be  remembered  and  felt  as  true.  That  de- 
gree of  mental  discipline  which  will  enable  a  man  to  think 
through  his  whole  subject,  and  to  command  a  view  of  it  from 
any  and  all  points  of  observation,  and  to  bring  to  the  aid  of 
his  judgment  and  imagination  those  rich  stores  of  knowledge 
which  they  demand  under  progressive  excitement,  is  greatly 
to  be  desired  in  all  public  speakers ;  and  those  who  have  it, 
possess  advantages  in  awakening  the  attention  and  arousing 
the  sympathies  of  their  audience,  so  as  to  receive  the  daguer- 
reotype impression  of  their  views  and  feelings,  which  are 


1854]  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  95 


not  conferred  by  any  other  conceivable  method  of  preparation. 
He  who  falls  below  a  certain  point  in  mental  training,  and 
relies  on  a  laborious  and  formal  preparation,  may  avail  him- 
self, and  with  propriety,  of  the  most  correct  information 
which  the  age  supplies;  and  in  his  delivery,  may  often  catch 
the  true  inspiration  of  his  theme,  and,  breaking  over  all  the 
restraints  imposed  by  the  formalities  of  preparation,  may  ac- 
complish T  some  of  the  highest  results  of  eloquence.  Dr. 
Leigh,  we  think,  was  a  striking  example  of  this.    There  was 
also  this  in  the  every  day  discourses  of  Dr.  Leigh;  and, 
perhaps,  in  as  great  a  degree  as  those  of  any  man  we  ever 
heard ;  they  were  full  of  heart ;  they  were  full  of  Christ. 
They  were,  in  their  essential  nature  and  effects,  as  far  from 
the  mere  deductions  of  a  calculating  philosophy,  as  any  we 
,  ever  listened  to.    He  breathed  over  his  audience  the  pure  in- 
spiration of  a  -warm-hearted  Christianity.     The  extent  to 
which  the  evangelical  doctrine  we  have  discussed  entered  into 
his  own  personal  experience,  very  fully  accounts  for  this  fact. 
And  on  those  occasions  especially,  on  which  he  evidently 
broke  over  the  bounds  of  studied  preparation,  and  his  will 
was  yielded  up  to  the  control  of  the  pure  moral  sentiments,  a 
direction  was  given  to  his  perceptivity  and  imagination  which 
was  truly  astonishing,  in  the  production  of  a  native,  simple, 
and  pure  gospel  eloquence.  .  In  this  respect,  we  may  well 
commend  him  as  a  model  pulpit  man.    This  preparation  was 
thorough.    There  was  the  clear  light  of  truth.    It  was  no 
borrowed  light.    It  radiated  directly  from  a  heart  whose  fires 
were  kindled  by  the  inspiration  of  a  sound  Christian  experi- 
ence.   Bat  we  proceed  to  contemplate  him, 

in.    As  a  PATRON  OF  LEARNING. 

It  is  not  surprising,  that  a  man  of  his  intellect,  and  wide 
views  as  to  the  best  interests  of  the  church  and  the  country, 
should  be  the  patron  of  learning.  But  Dr.  Leigh  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  pioneers,  and  perhaps  the  principal  one, 
in  that  great  movement  in  behalf  of  learning,  which,  for 
several  years,  has  been  going  forward  in  the  church  in  Vir- 


96 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


ginia  and  in  North  Carolina.  He  began  to  take  rank  amongst 
us  at  a  time  when  the  church  literally  slept  over  this  great 
question,  embodied  in  her  commission  to  enlighten  the  world. 
In  estimating  the  materials  of  church  history,  it  cannot  es- 
cape notice,  that  learning,  and  that  in  the  ratio  of  the  de- 
mand, was  an  original  and  essential  element.  If  only  two 
twelfths  of  the  original  number  of  Christ's  ministers  were 
distinguished  by  the  learning  of  the  age,  it  was  because  the 
objects  to  be  accomplished  by  learned  agents  required  no 
more  at  that  time.  But  when,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
learning  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  Roman  priesthood  and 
those  who  sustained  their  depraved  pretensions,  a  much 
greater  number  of  learned  men  was  demanded  to  carry  on 
the  contest.  God  raised  up  a  Luther,  a  Melancthon,  a 
Zwingle,  an  Erasmus,  a  Calvin,  a  Beza,  and  an  Arminius. 
These  men  achieved  a  glorious  triumph  over  the  learned  de- 
pravity of  the  Papal  church.  The  sincere  but  uninformed 
leaders  of  the  Anabaptist  fanaticism  contributed  only  to  im- 
pede the  progress  of  the  Reformation.  And  when,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  clergy  of  the  National  Church  of 
England,  and  those  who  sustained  them,  embodying  the  learn- 
ing of  the  age,  had  themselves,  to  a  great  extent,  adopted  a 
system  of  formalism,  which,  under  the  protection  of  the 
state,  threatened  a  result  to  vital  Christianity  no  less  disas- 
trous than  that  from  which  it  had  been  so  recently  reformed, 
God  sent  forth  into  his  vineyard  John  and  Charles  Wesley, 
Whitfield,  Fletcher,  Benson,  Coke,  Clarke  and  Watson. 
These  were  sufficient  for  the  times.  The  false  philosophy  of 
the  clergy  and  their  supporters  was  triumphantly  rebuked  by 
the  learning  of  these  men.  This  gave  them  access  to  the 
masses,  and  particularly  enabled  them  to  reach,  by  their  sys- 
tem of  lay-preaching,  the  more  obscure  portions  of  society, 
who  had  long  since  ceased  to  be  in  contact  with  the  clergy  of 
the  establishment.  The  same  system  of  means  was  deeply 
felt  to  be  necessary  in  this  country,  when  Anglo-American 
Methodism  began  to  prosper.  Coke  and  Asbury,  pressed  by 
the  urgency  of  the  demands  to  oppose  the  influence  of  the 

0 


18541 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


97 


settled  clergy  in  the  southern  country,  (the  principal  theatre 
of  their  labors  at  that  time,)  by  the  necessary  amount  of 
learned  and  influential  labor,  early  embarked  in  the  cause  of 
education,  and  sought  the  establisliment  of  a  college.  But 
the  effects  of  the  Revolution  had  wrought  a  great  change  in 
the  demands  of  the  times.  It  had  destroyed  the  influence  of 
the  hitherto  established  clergy.  In  fact,  it  had  driven  the 
most  of  them  from  the  country.  It  had  left  the  door  of  ac- 
cess to  the  great  mass  of  the  people  wide  open.  The  imme- 
diate demand  of  their  labor  was  the  preaching  of  the  simple 
truths  of  the  gospel,  upon  the  basis  of  a  sound  personal  ex- 
perience. This  demand  was  fully  supplied  by  the  clear- 
headed and  sound-hearted  men  who  were  employed  in  the 
itinerant  field  in  that  day.  But  our  deceased  brother,  and 
those  who  thought  with  him,  some  thirty  years  ago.  were 
deeply  sensible  that  a  diiferent  state  of  things  existed  at  that 
time.  A  great  change  was  rapidly  coming  over  the  face  of 
society.  Those  who  had  been  placed  in  advance  of  the  mass 
of  their  hearers,  by  the  simple  fact,  that  they  could  tell  of  a 
sound  conversion  of  heart,  and  exhort  the  people  to  ''flee  the 
wrath  to  come,"  were  no  longer  in  advance  of  their  hearers, 
by  reason  of  these  attainments.  The  republican  principle  of 
our  civil  institutions  was  rapidly  diffusing  the  educational  ele- 
ment through  the  mass  of  society.  The  yeomanry  of  the 
country  were  rising  daily  in  the  scale  of  intellect  and  general 
information.  But,  from  the  self-sacrificing  nature  of  our 
itinerant  system,  we  continued,  as  heretofore,  to  receive  the 
supplies,  for  our  fields  of  labour,  from  the  young  men  of  the 
land.  These  young  men,  as  all  experience  and  observation 
proved,  were  of  necessity  much  below  the  current  standard  of 
public  information.  The  simple  story  of  conversion  was  no 
longer  a  novelty.  Thousands  of  pulpit-s,  besides  our  own, 
taught  tiie  same  essential  truths.  These  truths,  therefore, 
no  longer  placed  them  in  advance  of  the  mass  of  their  hear- 
ers, and  constituted  them,  in  any  good  sense,  as  heretofore, 
the  leaders  of  the  people.  Withal,  other  denominations  were 
YoL.  VIII. — 7 


98 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January. 


raising  up  an  able  and  learned  ministry.  These  were  divi- 
ding public  attention  with  us,  in  all  our  settled  commiuiities. 
They  were  pushing  their  enterprises,  side  by  side,  with  us  in 
many  directions.  It  w^as  sensibly  felt  to  be  the  solemn  duty 
of  our  denomination  to  hold  its  way  in  the  great  work  of 
spreading  Scripture  holiness  over  these  lands,"  Besides,  it 
was  also  seen,  as  it  is  now  beginning  to  be  more  deeply  felt, 
that  a  great  struggle  with  the  errors  of  Papal  Rome  awaited 
the  church  in  this  country.  A  struggle  which  would  require, 
come  when  it  might,  a  greater  array  of  intellect  and  know- 
ledge than  had  ever  before  been  summoned  to  the  conflict. 
An  educational  movement  was  demanded.  ''It  was  time," 
said  Dr.  Leigh,  'Shigb  time,  our  church  had  .moved  in  this 
great  cause."  Again,  it  was  seen  that  our  ministry  failed  to 
derive  legitimate  benefit  from  the  general  progress  in  learning, 
as  well  from  the  fact,  that  we  had  no  prominent  literary  insti- 
tution, as  because  it  was  supplied  by  young  men  below  the 
current  standard  of  public  information.  Our  youth,  if  libe- 
rally educated  at  all,  were  educated  at  seats  of  learning  under 
other  influences  than  those  of  our  own  church.  By  reason 
of  this,  our  educated  young  men  had  been  weaned,  in  their 
feelings  of  attachment,  from  the  church  of  their  fathers. 
Accustomed  to  associate  learning  and  influence  with  other 
pulpits,  they  gradually  lost  respect  for  ours.  At  all  events, 
but  few  of  our  educated  young  men  devoted  themselves  to 
the  ministry  amongst  us.  Dr.  Leigh  united  with  others  in 
urging  two  remedies  for  these  pressing  evils.  One  was  a 
movement  in  the  Conference,  with  the  preachers ;  and  the 
other  was  a  movement  out  of  the  Conference,  with  the  peo- 
ple. In  the  Conference,  a  much  more  extensive  course  of 
study  for  licentiates,  with  more  rigid  annual  examinations, 
and  more  caution  in  the  admission  of  probationers,  was  in- 
sisted on.  It  was  also  recommended  to  our  people  to  aid  in 
establishing  an  institution  of  learning,  of  high  character. 
This  enterprise  was  carried  before  the  people,  and  by  private 
conversations  and  public  appeals,  an  efl^ort  was  made  to  arouse 
the  conscience  cf  the  church  on  the  subject  of  education.  In 


1854]  The  late  Rev,  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  99 


a  short  time,  Dr.  Leigh  was  enabled  to  present  to  the  Confer- 
ence a  handsome  subscription,  the  fruit  of  his  private  labors, 
in  evidence  of  the  readiness  of  the  people  to  co-operate  with 
the  Conference  in  the  establishment  of  a  college.  Action  on 
the  part  of  the  Conference  was  now  demanded,  and  at  the 
session,  in  1829,  a  Board  of  Trustees  was  appointed  to  select 
a  suitable  location,  procure  a  charter,  and  complete  the  enter- 
prise. This  Board  held  a  meeting,  in  the  fall  of  that  3^ear,  in 
Petersburg,  and  one,  in  the  following  3^ear,  at  Zion  church, 
in  Mecklenburg;  Ya.  The  great  solicitude  of  our  friends,  in 
diiFerent  sections,  to  seciu'e  the  location  of  the  institution,  in 
their  immediate  vicinity,  gave  rise  to  conflicting  opinions. 
The  land  was  literally  before  us.  Large  inducements  were 
oiFered,  by  different  communities,  to  secure  the  location. 
After  a  careful  examination  of  the  whole  ground,  the  meeting 
concurred  in  selecting  the  vicinity  of  Boydton.  Mecklenburg, 
Ya.,  as  the  location  of  the  college. 

Regarding  all  the  circumstances,  the  prominent  position 
held  by  Dr.  Leigh  in  originating  all  the  preliminary  measures, 
and  his  personal  activity  in  advancing  them,  we  have  always 
considered  him,  in  a  good  sense,  the  founder  of  Randolph 
Macon  College.  We  do  his  memory  no  more  than  justice, 
when  we  accord  to  him  the  honor  to  which  he  is  entitled,  as 
a  public  benefactor.  This  college  will  long  continue  as  a 
noble  monument  of  his  far  reaching  views,  and  devotion  to  a 
great  public  iiiterest,  shedding  its  light  and  glory  over  the 
church  and  the  land.  He  also  contributed  largely,  from  his 
private  resources,  to  this  object,  and  lived  to  see  the  fruit  of 
his  labors  in  a  vast  amount  of  present  good,  and  a  cheering 
prospect  for  the  future.  This  great  work,  however,  was  not 
accomplished  without  difficulty.  Some  saw  in  tiie  move- 
merjt  a  clear  evidence  of  worldly-mindedness ;  the  "entering 
wedge"  of-  incalculable  mischief!  Others,  whose  feelings 
were  dictated  by  their  prejudices,  entertained  serious  fears 
that  Y/e  could  never  succeed  !  Again,  to  procure  a  charter, 
appoint  professors,  and  use  the  name  of  college,  were  known 
to  be  an  easy  matter;  but  a  mediocre  institution,  having  little 


100 


TJie  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh.  D.  D.  [January, 


else  to  recommend  it  than  the  empty  title,  never  at  all  com- 
ported with  the  views  of  Dr.  Leigh  and  the  noble  spirits  wiio 
co-operated  with  him  in  the  enterprise.  A  large  amount  of 
money  was  to  be  raised.  True,  it  was  confidently  hoped,  at 
first,  that  the  State,  in  v/hich  it  might  be  located,  would  con- 
tribute important  aid  in  its  establishment.  This  consideration 
had  great  weight  in  determining  its  location  to  be  in  Virginia. 
She  had  committed  herself  by  an  act,  in  1821,  to  appropriate 
the  accruing  proceeds  of  the  Literary  Fund,  after  it  should 
reach  a  certain  amount,  to  the  benefit  of  her  chartered  insti- 
tutions of  learning.  About  this  time,  that  fund  had  reached 
the  maximum,  or  would  do  so  in  a  few  years.  With  a  view 
of  sharing  this  appropriation,  (other  things  being  equal,)  a 
charter  was  asked  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  instead  of  the 
State  of  North  Carolina.  The  charter  was  cheerfully  granted, 
but  up  to  the  present  time,  the  Legislature  has  refused  to  re- 
deem the  pledge  of  1S2L  It  was  soon  discovered,  that  this 
pledge  was  a  mere  ruse  of  the  times,  by  which  a  large  appro- 
priation to  the  University  of  the  State  was  secured,  and  that 
the  "accruing  proceeds,"  in  question,  were  demanded  by  a 
system  of  demagogueism,  without  which  a  large  portion  of 
our  politicians  could  not  share  the  distinctions  of  office.  To 
the  appropriations  for  the  University,  we  did  not  object ;  but 
that  the  large  proceeds  of  that  fund,  committed  as  they  are 
to  most  useful  purposes,  should  be  exhausted  on  a  plan  of 
education  called  primary  schools,"  which,  as  at  present  con- 
ducted, is  so  entu'ely  unproductive  of  good,  is  subject  to  strong 
objection,  and  should,  we  think,  engage  the  more  serious  at- 
tention of  the  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances, it  was  discovered,  at  an  early  period,  that  if 
Randolph  jNIacon  should  ever  fulfil  her  destiny,  it  would  be 
by  the  liberality  of  the  church  and  her  friends,  aroused 
through  the  enterprise  of  a  few  presiding  minds,  "From  150 
to  200,000  dollars  were  considered  indispensable  to  accomplish 
this  great  work.  To  raise  so  large  a  sum  by  individual  con- 
tributions, v/as  a  Herculean  undertaking.  'Great  difficulties 
were  to  be  overcome,  which  at  times  seemed  impassible. 


1854.]  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


101 


But  the  work  was  undertaken,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ;  and 
his  blessing  has  borne  us  above  all  discouragements,  and  ena- 
bles us  to  rejoice  in  prospect  of  the  permanent  establishment 
of  Randolph  Macon  College. 

It  is  not  designed  to  write  the  history  of  this  Institution. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  then,  that  through  the  co-operation  of  the  Vir- 
ginia, N.  Carolina,  S.  Carolina,  and  Georgia  Conferences,  and 
the  active  liberality  of  the  membership  and  friends  of  the 
church  within  their  bounds,  the  Trustees  own  large  property 
in  lands,  buildings,  professional  apparatus  and  library  ;  toge- 
ther with  an  endowment  fund,  a  portion  of  which  is  invested 
in  productive  stocks,  and  the  remainder  in  individual  bonds, 
in  a  process  of  collections;  amounting  to  about  60,000  dol- 
lars. In  acquiring  this,  large  liabilities  had  to  be  assumed. 
And  in  so  great  an  undertaking,  requiring  more  personal  atten- 
tion than  could  be  given  to  it  by  those  most  interested  in  the 
economy  of  the  expenditures,  something,  perhaps  much,  was 
lost  that  might  have  been  saved.  Until  a  few  years  past,  the 
tuition  fees  frequently  did  not  meet  the  current  expenses  of 
the  institution.  Hence,  debts  were  accumulated.  These 
debts  were  long  felt  as  a  sore  evil.  But  as  the  great  source  of 
accumulation  is  cut  off,  at  this  time,  by^  the  endowment  fund, 
Ihey  are  now  deemed  manageable,  and  fully  within  the  libe- 
rality and  enterprise  of  our  people.  Thirty  thousand  dollars, 
would  perfect  our  endowment  fund  ;  pay  the  debts;  effect  re- 
pairs, and  place  the  institution  beyond  the  reach  of  ordinary 
contingencies  ;  and  what  is  this  among  so  many  ! 

But  the.  results  of  this  enterprise  may  be  viewed  in  another 
direction.  In  the  early  period  of  her  history,  a  large  portion 
of  her  patronage  came  from  Georgia  and  South  Carolina. 
For  several  years  past,  this  source  of  supply  has  been  cut  off. 
Emory  College,  Georgia,  has  received,  as  it  was  entitled  to 
do,  our  Southern  patronage.  But  this  deficiency  has  been 
fully  made  up  by  an  increased  interest  in  education  among 
our  friends  in  Virginia  and  N.  Carolina.  There  has  been  no 
material  change  in  our  numbers.  From  one  hundred,  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  have  generally  been  in  attendance.  From 


102 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


the  year  1835,  to  the  present  time,  there  have  been  one  hun- 
dred ai]d  ninety-two  regular  graduates.  Scarcely  a  year  has 
passed  without  a  gracious  revival  of  religion.  And  although 
we  have  had  a  full  share  of  ungodly  young  men,  at  all  times, 
yet  from  data  before  us,  it  is  doubted  if  any  institution  in  the 
land,  has  greater  cause  to  be  thankful  for  more  general  good 
order,  studious  habits,  and  a  greater  relative  number  of  truly 
pious  young  men.  In  free  conversation  between  myself  and 
others,  at  different  times,  before  his  death,  brother  Leigh  dis- 
coursed with  great  interest  on  this  subject.  He  had  resided, 
he  said,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  College  from  an  early  period  of  its 
history.  He  had  witnessed  all  its  vicissitudes;  had  been  de- 
pressed and  elevated  in  his  feelings,  as  Providence  seemed  to 
frown  or  smile  upon  this  cherished  object  of  his  prayers,  and 
the  toil  of  the  best  years  of  his  life;  and  although  he  had 
seen  much  to  regret ;  much,  that  he  trusted  would  be  correct- 
ed by  a  sounder  discipline  and  the  advance  of  civilization,  he 
felt  that  he  had,  with  the  church,  and  especially  the  States  of 
Virginia  and  N.Carolina;  the  States  most  interested;  great 
cause  to  bless  God  for  what  he  had  lived  to  see,  as  the  fruits 
of  this  institution.  So  many  of  the  promising  youth  of  the 
land  had  been  converted  to  God,  or  deeply  impressed  with  the 
saving  truths  of  the  Gospel;  so  many  well  educated  young 
men  had  been  sent  out  from  this  institution  to  fill  the  profes- 
sions of  law,  medicine  and  agriculture,  with  wide  views  of 
the  wants  of  the  world,  and  a  growing  capacity  to  contribute 
largely  to  supply  this  demand  ;  so  many,  also,  had  gone  forth 
as  presidents  and  professors,  in  Colleges,  and  as  teachers  of 
important  schools,  and  were  now  exerting  a  wide  and  growing 
influence  upon  the  rising  generation  ;  so  many  also,  had  enter- 
ed our  Conferences,  and  were  proving  themselves  able  minis- 
ters of  the  New  Testament ;  simple  hearted  and  self  sacrifi- 
cing ;  they  v/ere  a  standing  rebuke  to  the  ignorant  conceit, 
that  educated  men  must  be  vain  and  idle.  And  then,  again, 
he  noticed  the  very  large  number  of  poor  young  men  who 
had  been  educated  here.  He  doubted  if  any  institution,  in 
the  land,  could  boast  so  many  in  the  same  length  of  time.  No 


1854.] 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D, 


103 


young  mail;  however  needy,  if  orderly  and  promisingj  ever 
came  amongst  us,  and  did  not  find  a  hearty  welcome.  Offi- 
cers and  citizens  were  always  ready  to  help  forward  the  de- 
serving poor.  The  revivals  of  religion,  and  the  educated 
young  men  who  had  entered  the  ministry,  many  of  whom 
were  eminently  useful,  engaged  his  particular  attention.  Re- 
garding all  the  circumstances,  he  declared,  though  confessing 
to  many  misgivings,  at  times,  and  many  things  to  regret,  there 
was  abundant  cause  to  be  thankful  and  take  coura2;e.  He  felt 
sure,  that  the  most  liberal  friend  the  institution  ever  had,  could 
not  regret  a  single  dollar  he  had  ever  contributed  to  this  great 
work,  if  he  had  any  thing  like  a  correct  idea  of  the  good 
already  accomplished. 

On  this  whole  subject,  the  views  of  Dr.  Leigh  were  very 
decided.  He  was  familiar  with  the  popular  opinions,  as  to 
the  part  the  church  should  take  in  the  cause  of  education. 
He  had  often  discussed  them  in  private,  and  very  deeply  re- 
gretted that  the  movements  of  the  church  were  still  slow  in 
that  direction  ;  but  he  entertained  no  doubts  that  the  onward 
movements  of  the  age  would,  ere  long,  render  the  victory 
complete.  With  him,  it  was  a  settled  conviction,  that  learn- 
ing and  religion  were  inseparable;  that  '-'what  God  had 
joined  together  no  man  should  put  asunder."  The  alliance 
of  learning  with  any  thing  else  but  the  religious  principle,  is 
an  unholy  wedlock,  which  can  never  receive  the  blessing  of 
God.  The  church  that  cares  not  who  teaches  her  children, 
in  the  schools  of  the  land,  no  less  than  in  the  pulpits  of  the 
land,  has  forgotten  her  mission,  and  forfeited  her  Divine  char- 
ter. It  is  an  idle  dream  to  think  that  she  can  prosper,  through 
the  mere  agency  of  the  pulpit,  whilst  she  yields  up  her  chil- 
dren to  be  instructed  by  men  of  depraved  moral  habits,  or 
infidel  principles,  or  by  Papists,  or  by  Antichrist  in  some  other 
shape.  No  !  no !  It  is  a  great  and  paramount  duty  of  the 
church  to  take  care  of  the  pulpit,  but  it  should  not  be  over- 
looked that,  let  men  of  perverted  minds  prattle  as  they  may, 
the  schools  of  the  country,  after  all,  in  a  good  sense,  supply 
the  pulpits  of  the  country.    The  church  must  not,  she  dare 


104 


The  late  'Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh.  D.  D.  [January, 


not,  be  indifferent  to  this  matter.  Ministers,  true  ministers, 
are  men  of  God's  own  choosing.  This  is  true  beyond  all 
controversy.  No  others  mast  be  countenanced.  Many  of 
these  are  not  called  until  they  are  prepared  for  usefulness  in 
the  fields  of  labor,  in  which  it  is  proper  to  employ  them. 
This  also  is  true.  But  then  it  is  equally  true,  that  many  are 
called,  and  furnish  proof,  such  as  has  never  failed  to  satisfy 
the  church,  in  all  ages,  when,  as  yet,  they  are  not  prepared 
for  successful  labor  in  those  fields  in  which  the  services  of 
gospel  ministers  are  most  urgently  demanded.  No  ecclesiasti- 
cal council  had  ever  disputed  this  principle.  No  writer,  of 
acknowledged  authority  in  the  Christian  church,  had  ever 
asserted  a  difi'erent  doctrine  in  regard  to  a  Divine  call  to  the 
ministry.  Hence,  our  church  never  once  thought  of  waiting 
to  find  a  man  called  of  God  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  who, 
at  the  same  time,  was  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  Chinese 
language  and  customs,  to  be  a  profitable  preacher  to  them, 
before  a  mission  in  that  country  was  opened.  On  the  con- 
trary, two  men,  who  were  judged  to  be  called  of  God  to  the 
ministry,  were  deputed,  without  scruple,  to  repair  to  that 
country,  and  prepare,  by  a  course  of  extremely  severe  study 
of  their  difiicult  language  and  strange  customs,  to  prosecute  a 
mission  among  that  people.  This  is  only  an  example  of  the 
principle  on  which  the  whole  Christian  church  has  uniformly 
acted,  in  all  similar  cases,  since  the  period  when  God  fitted 
men  for  their  work  by  the  miraculous  ''gift  of  tongues." 
Our  deceased  friend  entertained  the  opinion,  in  which  it  is 
assumed  most  sober  minded  men  concur,  that  the  instances 
among  ourselves  in  which  men  are  called  afler  they  are  pre- 
pared, are  not  numerous ;  but  on  the  contrary,  the  most  of 
those  who  are  called  to  the  ministry  have  (except  the  mate- 
rial fact  of  a  sound  conversion)  the  principal  part  of  the  work 
of  preparation  to  accomplish  afterwards.  It  is  exclusively  on 
the  basis  of  this  principle,  that  the  law  of  the  church  admits 
none  to  the  regular  ministry,  without  a  four  years'  probation. 
For,  as  the  proposition,  that  it  belongs  alone  to  God  to  call 
men  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  is  regarded  as  a  truism. 


1S54.]  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


105 


amongst  us  ;  if  all  whom  He  calls  are  prepared  for  their  work, 
we  can  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  assign  them  their  labor. 
Because  if  it  be  assumed,  that  the  object  of  the  probation  is 
merely  to  settle  the  question  of  a  call,  it  will  then  follow, 
that,  on  the  hypothesis,  that  He  calls  none  who  are  not  pre- 
pared, we  could  not,  with  propriety,  make  their  graduation, 
by  ordination,  to  the  office  and  work  of  the  ministry,  to  de- 
pend upon  their  passing  approved  annual  examinations  upon 
certain  preparatory  studies  in  literature  and  theology.  But 
on  the  hypothesis,  that  though  called,  they  may  not  be  pre- 
pared for  usefulness,  we  subject  them  to  a  course  of  prepara- 
tory study,  and  make  their  ordination  to  depend  upon  their 
giving  evidence  of  preparation,  as  Vv^ell  as  a  call.  It  is  also 
believed  with  equal  confidence,  that  a  great  many  of  the 
fruits  of  our  pious  labors  are  called  to  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, but  never  obey  the  call.  Some  refuse  by  an  act  of  vol- 
untary disobedience.  But  others  refuse  under  the  force  of 
circumstances  which  greatly  palliates  their  error.  They  are 
conscious  of  a  great  want  of  preparation,  even  for  that  par- 
tial work  we  propose  to  assign  licentiates  in  Conference. 
The  public  opinion,  (whether  right  or  wrong,  is  not  the  ques- 
tion,) against  the  practice  of  entering  the  Cluistian  ministry, 
with  as  little  preparation  as  they  feel  they  have,  is  daily  find- 
ing expression  in  forms,  which  have  a  very  discouraging  in- 
fluence on  their  convictions  of  duty.  The  progressive  agi- 
tation of  the  subject,  in  our  annual  Conferenc^is,  tends  greatly 
to  increase  this  discouragement.  Its  influence  reaches  beyond 
the  young  men  in  question,  and  reacts  upon  them  with  fear- 
ful effect.  Presidiiig  elders,  and  others,  who,  in  former 
times,  would  take  these  young  men  by  the  hand  and  bring 
them  forward  to  the  Conference,  for  admission  on  trial,  are  now 
discouraged  from  any  such  measures;  at  least,  they  do  it  not 
with  that  confidence  which  formerly  gave  them  great  success. 
The  result  is,  that  in  the  present  state  of  public  opinion  and 
practice,  the  labors  of  a  great  many  young  men,  who  are 
called  to  the  ministry,  are  lost  to  the  church.  This  is  truly 
a  serious  matter,  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  our  work, 


106  The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


and  especially  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  at  this  time. 
Fields  are  multiplying  on  our  hands,  to  an  extent  far  beyond 
our  ability  to  supply  them  with  profitable  labor,  or  indeed, 
with  labor  of  any  kind.  The  cause  of  Christ  suffers.  And 
if  it  be  true,  that  He  designates,  by  a  call,  a  sufficient  num- 
ber to  supply  the  fields  which  His  grace  has  provided;  (and 
who  dare  say  He  does  not?)  a  fearful  retribution  must  await 
us,  if  these  fields  are  not  supplied  by  reason  of  our  neglect. 
God  will  give  them  to  other  shepherds  who  will  care  for  his 
sheep.  Some  remedy  should  be  found,  and  found  speedily, 
for  this  evil.  The  tendency  of  public  opinion  is  onward.  It 
will  hardly  be  in  our  power  to  change  its  direction,  even  if 
it  were  desirable.  In  these  circumstances,  it  is  clear,  to  our 
mind,  that  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  all  ministers,  and  others 
who  could,  with  propriety,  approach  such  young  men,  to  seek 
them  out,  and  encourage  them  to  obtain  an  education.  They 
are  not  the  less  to  be  valued  because  their  modest  sense  of 
deficiency  forbids  their  coming  forward,  of  themselves.  They 
should  be  sought  out.  Their  attention  should  be  directed  to 
the  facilities  they  may  enjoy  at  the  literary  institution  of  the 
church.    They  should  be  encouraged  to  secure  them. 

No  man  valued  the  itinerant  system  more  highly  than  Dr. 
Leigh.  Few  men  enjoyed  better  opportunities  to  appreciate 
its  merits  in  training  young  men  for  the  pulpit.  In  his  esti- 
mation, it  was  a  school  which  stood  unrivaled  by  any  thing 
known  to  the  church,  as  a  means  of  pulpit  training.  But  then 
a  certain  degree  of  mental  discipline ;  a  certain  degree  of 
knowledge  of  men  and  books,  and  especially  of  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  the  Bible,  beyond  a  mere  experience  of  grace,  are 
obviously  necessary  to  give  efficiency  to  it  as  a  school  of 
training.  I^ike  every  other  great  school,  it  implies  a  degree 
of  antecedent  preparation.  A  young  man,  with  these  antece- 
dent advantages,  will  find  this  school  of  inestimable  value  in 
perfecting  his  knowledge  of  every  thing  that  belongs  to  his 
calling,  and  of  training  him  to  use  his  knowledge  for  the  be- 
nefit of  others,  with  great  skill  and  success.  One,  without 
these  advantages,  will  make  slow  progress  in  this  school.  He 


1854.J 


Tlie  late  Rev.  H,  G.  Leigh,  D.  D. 


107 


would  do  so  under  any  circumstances.  The  desultory  man- 
ner in  which  he  would  have  to  pursue  his  studies  might  lum- 
ber his  head  with  "much  learning,'*  but  it  could  have  little 
tendency  to  give  his  mind  that  discipline  which  is  necessary 
to  use  learning  to  great  effect.  But  with  our  present  plan  of 
operations,  requiring  so  many  duties  of  the  young  preacher, 
such  as  pastoral  visiting,  co-operation  in  all  the  varied  and  mul- 
tiplied interests  of  the  church,  (which  have  greatly  increased 
upon  us  within  a  few  years  past,)  and  not  unfrequently  the 
pastoral  charge  of  a  circuit  or  station,  it  is  very  obvious,  that 
if  his  studies  are  pursued  to  any  material  result,  these  inter- 
ests, one  or  all  of  them,  must  be  neglected.  In  these  circum- 
stances, it  is  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  enter  the  itinerant 
school  v/ith  the  necessary  antecedent  advantages  of  mental  dis- 
cipline and  information. 

The  great  object  of  the  church,  in  the  educational  move- 
ment on  which  the  old  Virginia  Conference  entered,  in  1S29, 
was  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  varied  interests  we  have  here 
discussed.  By  the  co-operation  of  the  N.  Carolina  Cotifcrence, 
and  the  great  liberality  of  the  lay-membership,  this  object  has 
been  prosecuted  to  a  most  valuable  result.  Something,  it  is 
true,  remains  to  be  done,  to  complete  the  enterprise  on  the 
broad  scale  necessary  to  meet  these  high  demands.  Why 
may  not  this  work  be  completed  ?  Oh,  where  are  our  men  of 
heart,  of  means  and  of  mind,  who  can  appreciate,  both  the 
breadth  of  the  demand  and  their  duty  to  meet  it?  "Oh," 
said  our  beloved  founder,  "  why  do  not  our  men  of  head  and 
heart  come  to  the  rescue  ?  Why  do  they  not  send  in  their  of- 
ferings to  the  Lord,  and  whilst  they  live,  rejoice  in  the  good 
their  liberality  is  accomplishing  ?  Dying!  why  do  they  not 
remember  this  great  interest  of  their  beloved  church  ?  Has 
not  Randolph  Macon  another  friend,  like  Jesse  Harper,  of 
Orange  N.  C,  in  all  the  bounds  of  the  two  Conferences?  Oh 
have  we  no  Wofford  amongst  us,  who  would  be  the  benefac- 
tor of  his  race  ?  Let  him  rear  a  monument  to  his  memory 
which  shall  last  as  long  as  religion  and  learning  shall  be 
honored  amongst  a  free  and  happy  people." 


108 


The  late  Rev.  H.  G.  Leigh,  D.  D.  [January, 


Thus,  we  close  the  services  due,  on  this  occasion,  to 
our  heloved  founder.  We  have  lost  our  first  our  fastest 
friend.  He,  whose  presiding  mind,  like  the  angel  spirit 
whom  God  placed  at  the  gate  of  Eden  to  guard  the  tree  of 
life,  has  watched  over  us  in  weal  and  in  wo,  nourishing  us  at 
home,  and  defending  us  abVoad.  He  has  gone  to  his  reward. 
But.  as  he  blessed  us  while  living,  so  the  review  of  his  useful 
life  may  still  administer  instruction  and  comfort.  Let  us  be 
careful  to  secure  the  same  sound  experience  of  grace.  Let 
those  of  us  who  may  be  called  to  occupy  a  place  on  the  walls 
of  Zion  emulate  his  zeal  in  consecrating,  not  a  part,  but  his 
whole  life  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Remember  this;  he 
was  a  laborious  student ;  a  master  workman.  Let  us  cpvet 
the  eminent  distinction  which  he  attained  in  wirniing  souls  to 
Christ.  That  broad  foundation  of  religion  and  learning  which 
he  so  well  succeeded  in  layiiig,  and  which  promises  the  noble 
superstructure  of  wide  usefulness  to  the  church  and  the  coun- 
try, is  now  our  inheritance;  an  inheritance  bequeathed  us  by 
his  munificent  liberality,  and  broad  views  of  the  public  inter- 
ests. Whilst  we  honor  his  memory,  let  us  strive  to  perfect 
this  great  enterprise  of  his  life,  and  thereby  to  place  Ran- 
dolph Macon  College  on  a  basis  from  which  nothing  can  ever, 
move  her. 


00035495348 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


